One of the first TV remotes changed the channel with sound.

Zenith Space Command remote
Credit: © Darkened Studio/Alamy
Author Michael Nordine
September 11, 2026

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Changing the channel is easier than ever these days: You can use any number of newfangled remotes, some of which are on your phone and others that are controlled by voice. Back when your parents or grandparents had to walk uphill both ways to school, however, the clicker worked differently: with sound. 

Following a series of inconvenient, highly expensive predecessors, Zenith introduced its Space Command remote control in 1956. With an appropriately futuristic look and just four buttons — “channel lower,” “volume,” “off-on,” and “channel higher” — it operated via tiny hammers hitting aluminum rods that rang at different frequencies corresponding with the command. Pressing those heavy buttons produced a clicking sound, hence the nickname, and triggered a response from small, specialized microphones inside the television.

Space Command didn’t require batteries or any kind of charging, as it was entirely mechanical rather than electronic. Zenith marketed the device with slogans such as “Nothing between you and the set but space!” and “Is it magic? It’s like nothing you have ever seen before — anywhere!” 

The sounds produced by the Space Command hammers were too high a frequency for human ears to sense, though cats and dogs could hear them. The remote’s main design flaw was that high-pitched sounds from other sources (even jingling keys) could inadvertently change the channel or lower the volume. Even so, ultrasound remotes remained popular until the 1980s, when they were replaced by infrared remotes.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first remote control in 1898.

Madison Square Garden has hosted countless historic events throughout its storied history — Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier’s “Fight of the Century” — but few had as much impact on our daily lives as one staged by Nikola Tesla at the tail end of the 19th century. The event took place during the Electrical Exhibition of 1898 and saw the inventor show off his patent with a bit of trickery. Before revealing that he was operating a torpedo boat via the world’s first remote control, Tesla had the audience shout commands at the boat and allowed them to think mind control was involved. Tesla later wrote that the scene caused “a sensation such as no other invention of mine has ever produced.”

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